Is your house falling down?

[alsy]

Mine is, allegedly.

My wife and I have lived in our tenement flat, factored by the local housing association, for 15 years. Over that time, we've been consulted on, and billed for, various minor maintenance and repair issues on top of our standard factoring bills, but never anything relating to the fabric of the building or the roof. Then out of the blue on Friday, we got a letter from the factor telling us that a survey had revealed that the building and roof need an estimated £91,000 of 'emergency repairs', and summoning us to a meeting to discuss costs to individual residents. Having been sent a copy of the survey, it appears that long-term neglect has played a large part in the building being allowed to get into the state it's apparently in.

The worst thing is that we put the flat on the market several weeks ago, having spent a few thousand on redecorating, storage facilities, estate agents, home report, etc. The home report noted nothing beyond some 'weathering', and certainly no immediate causes for concern. However, now that we've received this letter from the factors, we would of course have to declare it to any potential buyers, which would in effect make the house unmortgageable, so we've had to take it off the market for now, despite getting a couple of notes of interest earlier last week.  

I suspect that what will happen at this meeting tomorrow is that we'll be told that there are grants available to cover some of the costs, but that the residents (there are 6 flats in the block) will have to pay the balance, and that we'll then be asked to vote on it. It's a shite situation either way - if the residents vote against, then  we're probably stuck in an unmortgageable property; if we all vote for, then the chances are that our share of the costs will eat up all the money we've saved for a deposit and then some, and we'll be stuck here anyway.  However, my bigger gripes are that a) the factors should probably be admitting liability for neglecting the place so badly and bearing a significant part of the costs, but won't, and b) they've only presented us with a single estimate, and from what I've heard, I don't think they're above encouraging the contractors to exaggerate the extent and cost of repairs needed. 

A friend who went through something similar, but with a different factor, several years ago, ended up having to sell at auction and, in real terms, making a pretty heavy loss on his flat . So I guess what I'm asking in a roundabout way (tl;dr etc.) is, has anyone here had a similar experience and if so, do you have any advice that might provide hope for a happier outcome than the one I'm anticipating?       

[sonsanorak]

Citizens advice. They were a great help to me when I’d a used car issue.

You can also ditch the factor; it takes some time but my sister managed it when in a tenement flat a few years ago.

I think you’re right to ask for another quote but, I don’t see why the residents couldn’t pick a contractor to provide that.

[Flybhoy]

Just turn the heating up full and close all the windows. 

[ICTJohnboy]

Sensible comment from Sonsanorak above - Citizen's Advice is a good suggestion.

We went through a similar experience in Inverness several years ago, and had to cough up a substantial amount for roof repair work.

Fortunately our buildings insurance cover coughed up 50% of the total cost although they were at pains to point out that the damage to the roof was down to wear and tear rather than storm damage. They paid up on a goodwill basis as we had never claimed on our policy which had been in force for more than 10 years.

[welshbairn]

8 minutes ago, ICTJohnboy said:

Sensible comment from Sonsanorak above - Citizen's Advice is a good suggestion.

We went through a similar experience in Inverness several years ago, and had to cough up a substantial amount for roof repair work.

Fortunately our buildings insurance cover coughed up 50% of the total cost although they were at pains to point out that the damage to the roof was down to wear and tear rather than storm damage. They paid up on a goodwill basis as we had never claimed on our policy which had been in force for more than 10 years.

Never heard of an insurance company paying out when they aren't liable, or the cost of fighting it in court wouldn't be worth it.

Edited September 3, 2018 by welshbairn

[alsy]

5 minutes ago, ICTJohnboy said:

Sensible comment from Sonsanorak above - Citizen's Advice is a good suggestion.

We went through a similar experience in Inverness several years ago, and had to cough up a substantial amount for roof repair work.

Fortunately our buildings insurance cover coughed up 50% of the total cost although they were at pains to point out that the damage to the roof was down to wear and tear rather than storm damage. They paid up on a goodwill basis as we had never claimed on our policy which had been in force for more than 10 years.

Cheers, yeah, after we see what tomorrow brings, CAB will probably be the next stop. The solicitor who was supposed to be doing our conveyancing has offered to doing a bit of digging for us, but obviously we'd be reluctant to try to pursue some sort of legal claim against the factor for neglect unless we were advised we had an excellent chance of winning. Have had a look at the buildings insurance policy, but yeah, wear and tear / weathering aren't covered, which is obviously standard. Wouldn't hold out much hope of getting anything on a goodwill basis as the buildings insurance is, of course, arranged through the factors and added to their bills...  

[Nutz_the_Squirrel]

Rubbish situation.  Can't give much advice but wish you good luck.  I reckon they'll try to screw you all over so might be worth everyone getting the same legal representation. 

[ICTJohnboy]

6 minutes ago, welshbairn said:

Never heard of an insurance company paying out when they aren't liable, or the cost of fighting it in court wouldn't be worth it.

 

The insurance company was NFU and I've sworn by them ever since.

[welshbairn]

Just now, ICTJohnboy said:

 

The insurance company was NFU and I've sworn by them ever since.

I use them too and they seem decent tbf.

[pleslie99]

I own a property that I let out. The factor charges are ridiculous in my opinion. I get billed for my share (1/804th) of repairs throughout the estate where some wee ruffian has damaged something.
I have had letters asking me to fork out for a new roof and new cladding in the past year. Both times iv told them to shove it as the costs were ridiculous.
Good luck and hope u get a result.

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

We had an issue in the flat we used to live in with speirs gumley, they put out a letter saying that all of the flats in the development required new facing/roughcast not sure what the term is, but basically this was following a complaint from a resident that the blocks looked dated and could do with a refurb. I replied that I wasn’t interested as my particular block had no such issue and I felt it was unnecessary (ultimately we had planned to put the flat on the market too). A couple other folk similarly objected as our share would be a couple thousand (from a block of 6). Further to that we had just got married so were absolutely skint and our savings were for a deposit for a house. Speirs gumley then replied saying ‘we note your objection however we’ve sent the contractor round and it now looks as though moisture could get in behind a couple of cracks so it’s now a necessary repair and you have to pay for it as a majority of the block has agreed to it. They demanded the full amount within 2 months and refused to be flexible with a payment plan or offer any alternative. I demanded to see the individual quotes and asked what their ‘fee’ for this work was, they admitted they stood to make money from the repair but refused to tell me how much. Sadly the other neighbours were old tory b*****ds who would believe every letter they received telling them anything so we basically had to stump up the money meaning we were stuck there longer and could do nothing about it. They charged a factors fee of around £80 per month (despite providing a shitty service) and I had found an alternative factor which would do it cheaper for the same services (cleaning the close, buildings cover and grass cutting a communal area) but the auld yins werent for it. I learned two lessons from this, old people are unchanging arseholes of the highest order who seem unwilling to question anything from someone in a perceived position of authority and that speirs gumley are a shower of robbing b*****ds. I take solace that when we moved to our new build I was able to have a say in deciding who our factor would be and that when we moved the people who bought the house had really young screaming kids who would no doubt disturb the auld fuckers in the block.
I hope you get it sorted out with your factor, I’d suggest getting a consensus amongst your neighbours as to a quote from your own roofer and to request the full details of the quotes they sought.

[alsy]

12 minutes ago, Inanimate Carbon Rod said:

I hope you get it sorted out with your factor, I’d suggest getting a consensus amongst your neighbours as to a quote from your own roofer and to request the full details of the quotes they sought.

Cheers. The  neighbours we know are generally pretty reasonable and open to discussing common issues, but there are a couple of flats where the owners don't really show face, so it's hard to tell how they'll react. Makes sense to at least get an alternative quote. In the past I've felt that having a housing association for a factor is probably preferable to someone like Speirs Gumley or Hacking and Paterson, as I thought they'd be less likely to rip the piss, but a few things I've heard from people recently has made me wonder if that's really the case.    

[Melanius Mullarkey]

1 hour ago, Flybhoy said:

Just turn the heating up full and close all the windows. 

Probably water damage due to some dodgy fucking plumber.

[Hillonearth]

For a while I lived in a flat in a converted school building - Billy Connolly's old primary in fact - and I noticed a huge difference as the balance shifted from the vast majority being owner-occupiers when I first moved there and the time I left where it was tipping towards the buy-to-rent side of things.

To start with if anything needed done it was virtually always voted through almost unanimously as the punters were invested in the upkeep of the place - literally!  - but towards the end, it was like getting blood out of a stone as the landlords saw any expenditure eating into their profit margin and were loath to agree to anything getting done...Hacking & Paterson seemed to be reaching the end of their tether with the place by the time I split, which is all to the good, because they're dicks.

 

 

 

[Sergeant Wilson]

^^^TLDR, all the above.

[welshbairn]

4 minutes ago, Sergeant Wilson said:

^^^TLDR, all the above.

^^^

[Sergeant Wilson]

Just now, welshbairn said:

^^^

Happier, simpler times.

[Priti priti priti Patel]

(the following based on my experience in London) 

Service charge issues like this are very common, and you may well find a solicitor who will work on a CFA (i.e. no win, no fee) basis. Check out the Legal 500 directory for housing lawyers in your part of Scotland to find a good one.

[Archie McSquackle]

That's a hell of a lot of money on repairs without getting some form of second opinion. I'm not sure how it works with housing associations but some factors have their own building surveyors and they benefit from the management fees associated with carrying out this work.
It might be worth approaching an independent building surveyors (I've had some dealings with CRGP near Maryhill and they're a decent bunch) for a second opinion. Even a phone conversation with someone who knows the score can help by laying out your options. They'd no doubt want to visit and provide a repair for which there would be a fee but it would at least give you peace of mind that you're not being ripped off or, preferably, provide professional advice that it's not all needed.

[Arabdownunder]

If the building was to unexpectedly burn down your insurance would pay out.